Just Another Nightmare
by ACitySparkles
Summary: Based off of Dalton by CP Coulter, Santana has been cheating on Ethan with Jeff for long enough. He figures it's about time he does something about it.  Fic based off of Wake Up Call by Maroon 5 .


The darkness of the park frightened Santana as she drove up. She stepped out into the still air and took a deep breath in. Letting it out in a sigh, she went over the words she had to say. The carefully scripted dialogue she rehearsed for hours before arriving. But as she watched the familiar car pull up, her heart rate quickened and her breathing became shallow. The all too familiar signs of a panic attack visible.

She steadied her breath and gripped onto the chain of the nearest swing. She sat down and sighed. It would be easy. Just have to break it off. It shouldn't be too hard..

But once she looked up and saw those eyes, she knew it wouldn't be easy. To see those eyes in pain would kill her. She couldn't do it. She couldn't. Hurting him would shatter her heart.

Santana closed her eyes and dropped her head when she heard Ethan walk up. Suddenly, his arms were wrapped around her. "It's okay…" He cooed as she cried into his chest. Santana just shook her head. But once she looked up at Ethan, she didn't see his face. She saw a monster. Screaming, she tried to run away. But it didn't work.

Saturday morning: 2:31 am.

Waking up, Santana was breathing heavily. Sweat covered her face and made it gleam in the moonlight coming through the window. She gasped and brought her knees up to her chest. She looked down at the figure sleeping next to her. The blond haired twin didn't even stir.

Santana knew she was guilty. And she knew she would have to deal with it sooner or later. Preferably later.

She got out of their bed quietly and shuffled to the bathroom. Passing the calendar on the way there. She glanced at it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the time.

2:31 am. On January 12. Her birthday. She was finally 22. Glancing back to her and Ethan's bedroom, she sighed.

Shuffling to the bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She turned on the water and ran her hands under the faucet. The water felt cold against her sweaty palms. Santana bent down and rinsed her face. Turning off the water, she blindly reached for a towel to dry her face.

Without any warning, Ethan came up and hugged Santana, making her jump and almost scream. It reminded her of her nightmare.

"Oh my God, Ethan. Please give me a warning next time." She said, trying to return her breathing to normal.

"Sorry, babe." He laughed and kissed her forehead. "Why are you out of bed?"

"I.. Had a nightmare." She said, frowning. He hated seeing her like this.

"It's your birthday today." Ethan said. Santana smiled and nodded.

"So.. How about a little… Birthday fun?" He said, raising an eyebrow. Santana laughed and nodded and they returned to their bedroom.

Saturday afternoon: 12:45 pm.

Saturday mornings were peaceful in the Brightman's apartment. Santana woke up alone, and the smell of coffee filled her nose. Before she was able to get out of bed, something wet started to lick her face.

"Max, down. Max!" She pleaded, laughing. The Maltese wouldn't stop. Santana physically pulled the puppy off of her and cuddled it. She threw her blanket to cover its face and laughed as it tried to find its way out. She pulled him out and carried him to the kitchen with her.

"Good morning, Santana. Hey there, Max." Ethan greeted the both of them. Santana put the Maltese on the ground and it ran off into the apartment.

She moved towards Ethan and kissed him. "How did you sleep?" She asked him.

"Couldn't get to sleep since it was after 5 when we were done. So I got out of bed and read for a bit." He answered, flipping a pancake. "How about you?"

"I had a great sleep. No nightmares. Not even a dream. It was great." She said, smiling.

"That's good to hear. You slept for a long time." Ethan remarked, smirking.

"Why? What time is it?" Santana asked curiously, lifting herself up to sit on the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Almost 1 in the afternoon." He replied and handed Santana a plate with 2 chocolate chip pancakes on it. She smiled and started to eat them.

"Wow." She said. "I expected to wake up around 7 by force of habit. I'm surprised I slept past noon." She laughed. He smiled and turned the burner off. He grabbed his own plate and sat beside her, on a stool.

They spent the rest of the day in the apartment, talking and singing. It was a great day. The whole week was great.

But yet, Santana still felt guilty. She even felt guilty when Ethan said that he had to go away for the weekend on a business trip. She helped him pack his bags and gave him a goodbye kiss. Watching him leave, she sighed. The whole apartment to herself for the weekend.

Saturday afternoon: 3:36 pm.

The phone rang. Santana picked it up.

"Hello?" She spoke into the receiver.

"Hi, Santana." A voice she hadn't heard in over a month spoke back to her.

"Jeff!" She said happily. "Why are you calling?"

"I heard Ethan was out for the weekend. Maybe I can come keep you company?"

"Sure. When will you be over?"

"In about 10 minutes." Jeff answered and they both hung up the phone.

Santana sat down on the couch and grabbed her head in her hands. No. Ethan trusted her. She did this to him many times in the past. Why he stuck around so long was beyond her.

Walking to the bathroom, she looked at her reflection. A Disney song that her and Ethan sung all the time played in her mind.

_When will my reflection show who I am inside?_

But soon, she realized that if her reflection did show who she was inside, she'd be ugly.

Santana pulled her wedding ring off and placed it carefully in the drawer near the sink. The doorbell rang and Max started to bark. She rushed out and opened the door, realizing she was still in her pyjamas (just a tank top and her panties). She blushed when saw Jeff standing there, a smug expression on his face.

They spent the day doing the same things that her and Ethan would do. But it felt wrong to Santana. It never felt wrong before. Jeff picked up on that.

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked her, moving over to hug her.

"I don't know.." Santana replied, falling into his embrace. She sighed. Of course she knew what was wrong. But she wouldn't admit it. Especially not to Jeff.

But he had an idea on how to help her be happy. He picked her up bridal style and carried her to her's and Ethan's bedroom. Placing her on the bed, he pulled his shirt off. Santana was still in her pyjamas from the day. She looked at the clock. It was almost eleven at night.

Santana and Jeff got to it, and they were at it for most of the night. At about 4 am, they both got tired and stopped. Cuddling with each other, they fell asleep. Santana didn't dream that night.

Sunday morning: 5:30 am.

Still sleeping, Santana and Jeff didn't notice when Ethan came through the front door of the apartment. Knowing that Santana would be asleep, he didn't say a word. He'd explain later how the business trip was cancelled and how he still stayed in the city over night instead of driving home.

Walking into the bathroom, Ethan washed his face and opened the drawer to grab his toothbrush. He noticed Santana's wedding ring sitting there. He picked it up and held it in his hand. He dropped it on the counter and walked out to his office.

Santana had done this countless times to him. Too many times to count. With the same guy. With Jeff. Ever since they were 16 and still in high school. Even through college. But Ethan always remembered to fight for the girl you want. Because, if she wanted Jeff, then she would have married him instead of Ethan.

Unlocking his safe, he made an odd sound. Pulling out his pistol, he reached back for two bullets. If Jeff would be the source of their problems, then Jeff would have to be done with. Ethan loaded the gun and cocked it. He took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do.

Marching to their bedroom, Ethan passed Max. The dog growled. He knew that the dog would just get in his way. He grabbed Max and put him in his office. Closing the door, he continued back to their bedroom. The dog started barking. Cursing under his breath, Ethan arrived at the room. The door was open and he saw both naked people cuddling in the dark as they slept.

The dog's barking woke Santana and she caught sight of Ethan. Her heart started beating and she couldn't breathe. This was not what she expected. She caught sight of the item in his hand and her breath caught in her throat. She started to cry and shook her head. She thought he was going to kill her.

"No." She said. "No, please don't. Please don't kill me." Santana whimpered, sitting up and grabbing the nearest pillow to cover herself with. As if it would work as a shield.

Ethan shook his head. Jeff woke up.

"What do you mean don't kill you?" Jeff spoke and in his disoriented state, he looked up. Seeing Ethan, he gasped.

"Shit!" Jeff cursed loudly. His eyes widened at the sight of the gun. "No, man. No. Please. Don't. Ethan, come on man. You can't do this. I'm your friend."

Ethan brought the gun up and pointed it straight at Jeff. "No. I thought you were my friend. This has gone on for too long. You are the only source to our problems. You are the only reason we broke up so many times along the way. It's. All. Your. Fault."

And before Jeff could put in another word, Ethan pulled the trigger. The deafening sound of the gun made Santana scream. She started to cry more. Looking over at Jeff, she screamed again. To say she was crying would be a terrible under statement. With her hand covering her mouth, she stared at the body lying next to her.

Ethan dropped the gun to the ground, realizing what he had done.

"I'm so sorry, darling… Did I do the wrong thing?" He whispered, looking up at Santana, who was still horror struck.

"Oh, what was I thinking?" Ethan started to cry. "Is his heart still beating?"

Santana shook her head. She didn't have to check for a pulse to know that Jeff was dead. The bullet had hit him right in the chest. If he wasn't dead then he would die soon. Santana got up and ran passed Ethan. Dropping to the bathroom floor, she threw up in the toilet and collapsed onto the ground. The coldness of the tiles felt good against her face.

Ethan didn't move for a moment. But then he got up. Walking over to the bathroom, he looked down at Santana.

"Get dressed. What I did was wrong. And we have to do something with the body." Ethan ordered. Scared, Santana nodded and got up. She reached for her wedding ring that was still on the counter. She slid it on her finger and returned to the bedroom. She tried not to look at Jeff as she pulled a pair of dark skinny jeans on. She shed a silent tear while she pulled a black tank top over her head. Opening the closet, she took a leather jacket and slid into it.

"What are we going to do?" Santana asked, looking back at the body on the bed. Their white sheets were now completely drenched in blood.

Ethan shrugged. "I don't know. But we have to hide the body." He said, looking at the clock. 6 am.

"We could dump it into the lake." Santana suggested. Their apartment was right next to a main river in their town. It would be easy to slip in and out unnoticed. Ethan nodded.

"Good idea. I'll go get some hats and gloves. You wrap him up and I'll meet you by the door in 5 minutes."

Santana did as she was told in fear of him shooting her, too. She carried Jeff's body to the front door, wrapped in the blood soaked sheets from their bed. She had wrapped another blanket around him so the blood didn't show. Ethan came back with a black hat. He tossed one to Santana and gave her a pair of gloves. She put them on and they both picked up Jeff's dead corpse.

The tenants in the building were still sleeping. There was no reason to be up at ten after six in the morning on a Sunday. So bringing the body down stairs proved to be an easy job. Once they made it outside, they walked over to the water's edge. Working as a team, they through the body into the river and watched it sink slowly the bottom.

"I'm sorry." Ethan said, a tear falling down his cheek.

"I guess it doesn't matter now. We both screwed up." Santana said, looking up at him. They discarded their hats and gloves and she grabbed his hand. Without a hint of expression on either one of their faces, they returned to the apartment.

Tuesday morning: 8:27 am.

Santana opened the newspaper and took a sip of her tea. She read the first head line and gasped.

MAN FOUND DEAD IN RIVER

_Yesterday morning at around 6:30 am, a passing jogger saw something suspicious in the river. Calling the police, they investigated. The man, whose identity still remains unknown to the public, seems to have been shot. The body was wrapped in several layers of blood soaked sheets, which further proves the fact that this was a murder. The police have no current suspects, and we hope to find the murderer soon._

Santana turned the page and started to read the comics. Maybe if she started to forget it all happened, it would completely disappear.

Maybe she could make herself believe it was just another nightmare.


End file.
